Box toe cap for shoes



June 4, 1946 F N. LA CHAPELLE 2,401,574l

BOX TOE CAP FOR SHOES y Filed Feb. 26, 1942 Patented June 4, F1,946

BOX TOE -CAP FOR SHOES Fred N. La Chapelle, Beverly, Mass., assigner to Sidney H. Huberman, Boston, Mass.

Application February 26, 1942, Serial No. 432,469

(Cl. 36--77l 2 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe constructions ln `general and more particularly to laminated substitute materials for certain parts of shoesheretofore madel of leatherJ paper, stiff felt, sheet metal, etc.

, Objects of the invention include the provision of shoeparts which are desirably stiff in the finished shoesuch as the box toe caps and counters, these parts being made of laminated material, such as plywood, which may be steamed or soaked to render it pliable but which stiiens upon drying; the provisionof box toe caps :for shoes made in substantially dat plywood sheets adapted `to be steamed or soaked just prior to application thereof to the last so that the pulling over machine is capable of forming the plywood 'to the shape of the last; and the provision of plywood sheets cut to required form for box toes `in flat condition, soaked or steamed to render them pliable and the glue between the laminations of less holding eect so that the individual laminations may slip relative to each other at least to a slight degree, said sheets then being ready for application to the last under the upper and hence capable of being formed to the shape of the last by the pulling over machine.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of flat plywood sheets shaped as required for box toes, skived from their edges inwardly, and bent or formed approximately at the skived area to form the box toes with a minimum of puckering or splintering of the plies at the bends.

Still further objects of the invention include the provision of died or cut out plywood sheets or panels skived deeply at their edges, soaked or steamed to render the plies iiexible and the glue more or less liquid, said sheets or panels being then molded between dies to form a desired shape such as a pre-formed box toe for a safety shoe, the principal bending occurring at the skived areas and the iinal product being in the form of a cup whose side walls are relatively thin and at substantially right angles to a thick bottom, the latter forming the top of the box toe and being strong enough to resist crushing under the impact of ordinary dropped articles, while if a very heavy article crushes the box toe, it can be easily sawed ol the foot as is at present extremely difficult or impossible with metal box toes. In the pre-formed box toe it Will be appreciated that theskived side walls will bear relatively heavy loads as they are arranged parallel thereto and need not be as thick or strong as the top of the box toe.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a plan view oi a blank or panel fora box toe embodying the present invention; p

Fig. 2 is an enlarged .section of a blank or panel for a shoe part embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a section through a completed box toe; and

Fig. 4 is a section through a completed preformed box toe for a safety shoe.

Box tee caps for shoes have been Vmade of heavy leather but are4 usually formed from a felted cotton and jute substance, and in safety shoes the box toe cap is -made .of sheet metal. It isthe present purpose to provide a substitute for the felt and metal in the form of plywood or other laminated material and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to plywood but may also be applied to laminated fabrics, plastics, and combinations thereof With thin wood sheets. For .purposes of clarity of `disclosure of the invention it has been elected to illustrate it as :applied to plywood. Y

Fig. l illustrates a, box toe blank Il) or flat sheet which may be conveniently made from large plywood sheets by cutting along the edges I2, I4

thereof by means of a die cutter or the like. The

individual blanks are then skived or beveled at the edges as by a knife or rotating edging cutter, either by hand or by the use of rotary pattern or proiile machines. In the case of box toe caps for dress shoes, the article is now complete with nothing further to be done until the actual making of the shoe, it being noted that the blank is thickest at its center as at I6 and gradually tapers to its edges l2 and I4 as is generally illustrated at IB in Fig. 2. The individual laminations are preferably very thin, and the entire cap is preferably little if any thicker than a conventional toe cap.

Just prior to the pulling over operation, the shoe upper 20 is peeled or folded back on itself at the toe, over the last 22 and a, blank l0 is inserted just over the canvas inner lining 24 with the edge I2 positioned transversely of the last at the base of the toe, and the toe edge I 4 in position to be covered by the upper at the toe edge thereof. The last is positioned in the pulling over machine and as the pinchers are operated to pull over the upper onto the sole of the last, the skived or angularly trimmed off Vedges of the blank are also pulled over and shaped to the last as illustrated in Fig. 3. At the proper point in the manufacture of the shoe staples or tional.

It will be seen that the box toe cap is bent over and shaped to the last at the trimmed off area I8, and that the maximum bend occurs generally where the blank is thinnest. In order to further provide against puckering, however, it is contemplated that the toe edge area of the blank may be scored as at 32, these cuts or scores stopping short of complete pentration of the blank in most cases, and providing for a lapping over of adjacent cut edges of individual plies in the blank during the pulling over operation, as

clearly these areas will be under a buckling influence.

Ordinarily the plywood or similar laminated blank would be too stiff for the operations above described, and therefore it is contemplated that the operator will steam the blank thoroughly just prior to application thereof to the last, or that the blanks will be soaked or boiled in water. The steaming or soaking will render the laminated material sufliciently pliable for its use in the manner described, and also the glue holding the 21 objects from injuring the toes and in the case of crushing by a heavy object the cap can be quickly sawed off.

A thicker sheet of plywood or the like is used for box toe cap 34, and it is skived or trimmed to Y a greater degree than the dress shoe box toe, but in the same manner as hereinbefore described as to the dressboX toe. The blank is steamedor soaked and is then pressed to the form shown in Fig. 4 between dies which may be heated to more.

quickly dry the toe cap. It will be apparent that the edges 36 which are bent are much thinner than the plane or slightly arched top portion 33, the latter being 'only Very slightly affected by the dies. Edges 36 will obviously be located parallel to the force of impact loads and need not be as thick or strong as the top portion 33 which is substantially normal to the force of dropped articl'es. As in the case of the dress box toe cap, the individual laminations Will slideA relativer to each other during the die forming operation due to the at least partial liquidity of the glue after the steaming or soaking operation.

laminations will become somewhat liquied and the individual laminations will be enabled to slip relatively to each other during the bendingv so that cracking thereof is largely eliminated.

Figui illustrates a heavier pre-formed box toe cap 34 for workmens safety shoes which are ordinarily provided with hard sheet metal caps. It has been found that these metal caps will prevent injury to the toes if a small object is dropped on them, but where a heavy object is dropped the cap bends inwards and clamps the toes preventing removal vof the shoe and causing loss of venous flow so that the toes swell and become painful. These metal toe caps cannot be sawed l 0E and often it is hours before the shoe can be taken apart. The laminated plywood or similar material toe cap here disclosed will stop small Shoe counters and other stiff shoe parts can be made of the material and by the methods above outlined and it is desired to point out that the invention is not limited to` box toe caps, al-V though it has been found convenient to show the invention as applied to the caps merely for illustrative purposes. A I

Having thus described my invention and the advantages'thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A laminated box toe capY comprising a Wooden cup-like element, the central portion of the element having a plurality of laminations and the rim of the element having a lesser number of laminations than the central portion.

2. A laminated box toe cap as recited in claim 1 wherein edges of the laminations are beveled to present a smooth surface.

FRED N. LA CHAPELLE. 

